Due out This Spring: Creams That Protect against Poison Ivy

Due out This Spring: Creams That Protect against Poison Ivy

Article excerpt

Here are some recent health-care developments:

This spring and summer, there's new hope for avoiding poison
ivy or poison oak and all that nasty scratching. A commercially
approved, over-the-counter cream can help prevent allergic reaction
to these plants, a doctor says.

The cream is called "IvyBlock," and this will be the first
spring that it's been available.
And it's not too early to be thinking about poison ivy and
poison oak prevention.
"If you touch the stems in the spring, you can get it from the
resin, even if there are no leaves on the plant," said Dr. Mark
Dykewicz, an allergy expert at St. Louis University School of
Medicine.
You need to smear the cream on your skin at least 15 minutes
before you go outdoors. It reportedly lasts for several hours and
can be easily washed off.
Dykewicz says a study involving more than 200 volunteers showed
that IvyBlock worked.
It's estimated that about two-thirds of the U.S. population is
susceptible to developing allergic dermatitis from poison ivy and
poison oak. About 15 percent of these individuals develop severe
reactions after exposure.
The product should start hitting pharmacy shelves shortly. It's
expected to cost less than $10 a tube.
Dykewicz says that another over-the-counter cream has also been
shown to help prevent poison ivy rashes. It's called Stokoguard.
Help With Sick Babies
Another product moving from the laboratory to the medicine
cabinet is aimed at helping parents give liquid medications to
babies. Called the "Rx medibottle," it's a baby bottle with a
special oral dispenser.
Its developers say the bottle is simple to use and can more
accurately deliver medicine to a fussy baby, which will be good
news to anyone who's ever tried the job at, say, 2 a.m.
Here's how Rx medibottle works: First you load the oral
dispenser with the medicine and then insert it through the bottom
access of the bottle. After the infant begins drinking, you press
the dispenser plunger. It shoots out quick short squirts of
medicine to mix with the liquid in the bottle.
The medicine is swallowed with the other liquid, such as juice
or milk. …